Recreation and amusement machine



Jan. 5, '1932} EVANS 1,840,192

RECREATION AND AMUSEMENT MACHINE Filed March 21, 1929 3 1 J .4.EZ'vmsway 42 4/ Z as, r I,

Patented Jan. 5, 1932 UNITED STATES AMBROSE HQEVANS, or nu'rcnmson,KANSAS RECREATION AND AMUSEMENT MACHINE Application filed March 21,1929. Serial No. 348,823.

provide a novel mechanism for releasing the means whereby the indicatingis accomplished.

It is within the province of the disclosure to improve generally and toenhance the utility of devices of that sort to which the presentinvention app'ertains.

With the above and other objects in View, which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts, and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being ,understood that changes may be made inthe precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed, within thescope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 shows in top plan, a deviceconstructed in accordance with the invention, parts being broken away;

Figure -2 is a side elevation wherein parts are broken away;

Figure 3 is a front elevation, parts being broken away, and parts beingin section;

Figure 4 is an elevation disclosing the slide and attendant parts, thereleasing circuit being shown in diagram;

Figure 5 is an elevation of the structure disclosed in Figure 4, withsome added parts in section; I

" Figure 6 is a fragmental elevation showing a modification in thepaddle.

The device forming the subject matter of this application may beoperated in a vari ety of Ways, as has been stated hereinbefore. Inorder to simplify the descriptiomhowever, it will be presupposed thatthe device is to be operated by bowling, and, therefore, the numeral 1has been used to designate the bed of a bowling alley forming part of asupport, designated as a whole by the letter S.

On each side of the bed 1 there is a gutter 2. i A forward frame 3, arear frame 4, and an intermediate frame 5, are mounted vertically on thebed 1, and are connected by side beams 6. The intermediate frame 5 issomewhat higher than the forward frame 3 and the rear frame 4 of thesupport S.

On the rear end of the support S there is a hood 7 which overhangs atransverse gutter 8 mounted on the support S. At its outer end, thegutter 8 communicates with a downwardly and forwardly inclined chute 9.An upwardly and rearwardly inclined platform 10 extents from theintermediate frame I 5 to the hood 7. When'a ball is rolled along thebed 1 of the alley, the ball actuates certain instrumentalities to bedescribed hereinafter and the ball rolls up the platform 10 into thetransverse gutter 8, the hood 7 prev venting the ball from shooting outof the machine at the rear end of the support S. The ball rolls alongthe transverse gutter 8 into the chute 9 and by the chute the ball isdelivered at the point where the bowling is going on, and at such aheight that the bowler does not have to stoop to pick up his balls.

Depending brackets 11 are mounted on the upper portion of the forwardframe 3. Vertical paddles 12 are pivotally mounted intermediate theirends at 14 on the brackets 11. Buffers 15 are adjustably mounted on therear surface of the paddles 12. I

There is a radius arm 16 for each of the paddles 12, the forward end ofthe radius arm being pivotally mounted at 17 on the 35 brackets 11. Theradius arm 16 has an enlarged head 18 at its rear end, and the head 18rests on the horizontal portion 19 of a cross piece 20 embodied in theintermediate frame 5 and including a vertical flange 21. A replaceablebuffer 22'is mounted in the head 18 of the radius arm 16. A buffer 23 ismounted on the lower surface of the radius arm 16 and is so placed as tocooperate with the bufler 15 on the paddle 12. A weight 24 is adjustablymounted at 25 on the radius arm 16. It may here be observed that anequivalent device, designated by the numeral 40 may be used to mount thebuffer 15 on the paddle 12.

Rack bars 26 are secured at their lower ends, as indicated at 39, in thehorizontal portion of the cross piece 20. The rack bars 26 extendupwardly along the vertical flange 21 of the cross piece 20 and havetheir upper ends mounted on the top portion of the intermediate frame 5.Slides 2'7 are mounted for vertical reciprocation on theguide's 28 7that extend between the part 19' of the cross piece 20 and the upperportion of the intermediate frame 5. The slides 27ar'e provided withbuffers 29 on their lower ends, and these, buffers cooperate with thebutters 22 ofthe radius arms 16. a a

Each slide 27 has a lateral pointer 30 adapted to. cooperate withavertical scale 31 on the:

intermediate frame 5, there-being'as many ofithese scalesas occasion mayrequire. The. slide 27 carriesv a spring dog: 32 which is forked :at 33to straddle and engage the rack barl26. Anysuitable means may beprovided for disengagingthe dog 32from1the rack-bar 26. Byway ofillustration, but not ofnecessity, the dog 32 has an armature 3 ladaptedto be attracted by an electro-magnet 35 on the slide 27. Conductors 36lead from.

the magnet 35 to brushes 3'7 "on the slide 27',

the brushes making electrical contact with the :guides '28, the guidesbeing located in a circuit 38 that includes aswitch 11 and :a

guides, means wherewith the slides cooperate to .form an indicator,mechanism for holding the slides in adjusted positions on the guides,said mechanism embodying a latch, an electro-magnet on the slides, thelatch being responsive to the electro-magnet, brush-es on the slides andengaging the guides, a circuit including the guides, the brushes and theelectro-magnet, a switch in said circuit and under the control of anoperator, a source of electric energy in saidcircuit, andimpact-operated means for actuating the slides.

2. In a device of the class described, a support, a paddle pivoted tothe support, a radius arm resting on the support and pivoted to thesupport;-the radiusarm being disposed in the path of'the paddle, a slidemounted for;reciprocationonthe support and operable/why the radius arm,mechanism for; holdings-the slide after; it hasbeen. raised bythe-actionzof theiradius arm, meansunderethe control of an operator forreleasing said mechanism, a

Weight, and means for mounting the weight in adjusted positions onthe-radius flIIlL;

Intestimony that I claim the foregoingras my own, I hereunto set myhand.

AMBROSE EVANS:

and swings the lowerend of the paddle backs,

wardly and upwardly, the'buifer15' on the paddle cooperatingzwith thebuffer 23 011 the radius-arm 16, to swing the rear end oftheradius armupwardly, the radius arm causing the slide 27 'to move upwardly on theguides 28.- Theend 33 of the dog 32 cooperates with the rackibar 26 tohold-the slide in any posi tion to 'whichit may have'been drivenupwardly,:the pointer 30 on the slide coacting with the'scale 31to'indicate the force with which the paddle 12. was struck; The opera-'tor can close the-switch 41,- thereby energizing the magnet 35 andretracting the dog 32' from engagement with the rack bar 26; Then theslide 27 will move down on the guides 28' until the buffer 29 on theslide cooperatesw'ith the bufle-r22 in-the'hea'd18 of the radius; arm16, the headofthe radius. arm restingon the part 19 :of the cross piece'20."

In theeventethat the operator wishes-to pu'nc-h'or kick the paddle .12,instead of hit-' tingitwithza ball, itmay be expedient to put acushion43onthe'pa-ddle 4 1, as shown in, the modification depicted ill-Figure 6.I

Having thus described the invention, what is: claimed. is

1. In a device of the bowling-alley type, a support, guides onthe-support,verticallymovable slides mounted to reciprocate on the

